, 1887-02-20
CRUISE ON AN ICEBERG.

son. m old whaler), when the wind dice
avny on us one morning and left MS heaying
on n heavy swell, with five or six big icebergs
in iuil view. The calm came about 10
o'clock in the morning, and at that time the
nearest berg, which | venture to say covered
as much space as n village of ZOO inhabitants,
was four miles of. Before noon we had
drifLed toward each other until we We're two
miles apart; but then the same current
seemed 10 catch us. and We drifted away to
the west in company, neither increasing nor
lessening the two miles distance. The day
was raw and chilly, though tho sun shone
brightly, and the air was so clear that the
mon on our decks soon made out some nni-
Hnls moving on the berg. 1t had swung
around a bit, showing q new face, and when
the captain had taken q look with his glass he
informed US that he could make out two
polar bears and several small animals, which
ne beloved to be Arctic foxes. We had been
without fresh meat for many months, and an
appeal WINS made for ono of tho boats 10 be
PEI nitted to go of and kill the bears. The
weather Ind a steady look, and after some
hesitation the captain permitted tho third
mate to tako four men and pull off. Tho
name Of the mate WINS Mr.. Wharton, and the
men were George Smith, George Olsen, Bill
Green and myself. We took along muskets
and hafpoons and pulled away, rejoicing that
We were to have Tn adventure.
There wns but little field ice, and we had no
difficulty in avoiding tho occasional great
cakes and pieces broken from the bergs. We
pulled with such a will that we we're soon up
to the berg, and 1t did not take US long To
find out that the captain was right. On a
sort of shelf thirty or forty feet above the
water We discovered the bears, but as soon US
tbaxs ,.ntaI O.r nsoaapca thar 1ro npcroI aInpO
the shelf until hidden behind a projection. II
You never saw an iceberg 1t will DO hard 10
make you understand just what they are.
This ono stood up $50 feet out of the water at
it, highest point. The surface was cut up
into ravines, hills, towers, and oil sorts Of
inequalities, and these inequalities extended
down and along every side. There were a
dozen places where the sun was melting the
ice so that streams of water were trickling
down. and the waves wero breaking along
one whole side and throwing spray fifteen
feet high. presume some OF the lady pas
sengcrs on an ocean steamer PASSING two or
three miles away might have called ita grand
sight, but as wo reached the base of the berg
it seemed to US to be about US ugly All object
Us the sea could bear up. We wero on the
leo side, OF course, and as the bears scampered
nlong wo pursued until we found their
further progress stopped by a high cliff, up
which nothing could make its way. We
could come up within half pistol shot, and the
mate and Smith were good shots with the
musket. How far the bears had been carried
on the berg, or how long they had been
aloat, 1t WINS OF course impossible to tell, but
tho mato figured from the wear and tear OF
tho big lump of ice that 1t had been weeks at
scn. At any rate, The bears seemed greatly
.n.,l.J ~ tho ekrbt of ,s ubriplttn. unos,at
the wall and whining like dogs as soon as fire
was opened. They were both down after
seven or eight shots.
You will mind that the ship was to wind
ward OF the berg and two miles away. We
had pulled around to the leo side, and wero
consequently out OF sight Of the vessel. We
had downed the bears and were looking for q
place 10 make tho boat fast in order to get at
tho cnrcasses, when, rs suddenly as il you
had clapped II blanket over it, the sun was
obscured, there was n sharp puff Of wind,
and tho next moment 1t WINS showing as 1t
only SHOWS of dreary Cape Horn at the right
season of the year. The whole heavens werc
overspread in nc time, and we could not sec
the water twenty feet AWAY. The ship had
seen the squat gathering and fired guns for
Us before VIC had shot tho bears, but the
booming Of the waves around us had shut
out all other sounds. When l said tho ship
was TO windward OF the berg, and that 1t
was also a dead calm, | meant that she was
on the side from which tho waves were run
ming. We had taken her bearings by com
pass ms We rounded thefcorner of the berg,
and now as the storm came on we settled
into our seats for a strong pull The squat
had come up with the run of tho waves, 80
that US soon as we had rounded the berg
we found ourselves facing such a whirl OF
snow as you can scarcely imagine, while the
waves began TO tako OF their white crests
md to run with greater strength. We knew
that tho ship could not remain stationary,
and that tho chances Of our running across
her in that storm was not ono in u thousand;
but every man had shut his teeth on tho
worst when the mate brought out the bottle
of whisky from the stern locker and said:
Now, lads, Il pull Mt tho bottle all around
and wen feel better. We aro in an awkward
Tx. to be sure, but I've been in far worse and
and am here to prove that l came out all
right. Give me a strong stroke and I'll put
You aboard the Vestal in half an hour"
IL was wonderful now much his words
cheored us up, and We sent the boat ahead as
il wo Ind sighted a whale. We had pulled a
good four miles from tho borg when Mr..
Wharton ordered us to cease rowing, and,
after n drift Of fifteen minutes he said:
Lads, we have somehow missed the ship,
and must make the best OF it. The storm
won't break for hours yet, and our only hope
Is to lind the big berg again and make fast
under its lee. Round with the boat md let
every man keep up n stout heart"
He wasn't sure that he had the bearings OF
tho berg, being as we had drifted away to
the southwest, but after a long md ~fatiguing
pull, with the furry so dense that we could
not see n boats longth away, we finally heard
tho breaking OF the serf on the berg. We
the ran down its north face until we turned
the corner, and were soon at the very shelf
on which tho bears lay dead Having been
cruising among the ice for weeks, our boat
was provided with ice anchors, and after a
little we made fast, vecred the boat to q safe
distance, and then rode rs nicely us you
please. The water under the lee of that great
floating obstacle was us quiet as 1t would
have been in the lee OF n hundred ncro
island. 1t wasn't so very cold, but we had
pulled away from the ship without amy prep
n%rntion, and rs the afternoon wore way we
found that our cramped quarters were tell
ing ngainst us. Feet, hands and limbs were
%bcnumbed, and 1t vas plain that we must
have exercise or we would soon be frostbit.
ten By the mates orders the boat was drawn
into the berg and we got out on secure foot.
ing and hauled the craft after us. The mate
then told us TO scatter along the shelf on
which the bears were lying and stretch our
legs and swing our arms, and while we were
ut this he overhnuled the stores In the boat.
when we finally gathered around him again
he announced that he had found a lantern
aud "A pint OF oil, two hatchets, n hhrpoon,
three muskets, with powder and ball for about
twenty rounds, n lot of matches, two tins
Of ships biscuit, n keg OF wnter, and there
was the whale line on its reel, and the leo an